A digital image analysis study on the disintegration kinetics of reticular fibers in the ethylene glycol-induced rat liver tissue.

Ethylene glycol (EG), the raw material of polyethylenterephthalate, which is the most consumed plastic in the world, has low toxicity, but its metabolites are toxic. EG metabolites can cause acidosis, fibrosis, and eventually cirrhosis in the liver. This study aimed to investigate the effect of EG on rat liver and to determine the quantitative values of the disintegration of reticular fibers (RF) in the liver with the dose duration and to investigate the changes by digital image analysis (DIA). For this purpose, Wistar albino rats were divided into control, and five different daily experimental groups. The control group received saline, and the experimental groups received EG. At the end of experiments, liver tissues of all euthanized rats were removed, and sections were taken, and RF was shown by silver staining. It was observed that the RF fragments in the experimental groups were less than the control group. DIA of RF fragments was then performed with Olympus cellSensDimension 1.15 software and number, area, and ROI% values of the fragments were determined. Statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between control and all experimental groups. RF fragments showed first-order disintegration kinetics, mean disintegration rate constant, and half-time values were 0.1 day and 7 days, respectively. Consequently, the digital image analysis approach can be a useful tool for the biologist, pathologist, fibrosis-cirrhosis specialist, and computer scientist to understand the effects of toxic chemicals in the liver and analyze reticular fiber disintegration.